Am I The Only One: Struggling Being A Teen

It didn’t take long after my first book, Eating Myself Crazy, that I knew a second one was not far behind. However, the next one would be for teens. During my book signing events with Eating Myself Crazy, I would frequently be engaged in conversations with parents about how they were worried about their teenage son or daughter, specifically around body image issues and self-talk. I would be asked by these parents if I could write a book for teens. How could I say no when there is such a great need?

It didn’t take long after my first book, Eating Myself Crazy, that I knew a second one was not far behind. However, the next one would be for teens.

During my book signing events with Eating Myself Crazy, I would frequently be engaged in conversations with parents about how they were worried about their teenage son or daughter, specifically around body image issues and self-talk. I would be asked by these parents if I could write a book for teens. How could I say no when there is such a great need?

The world has become a harsher and more critical place to grow up in and our teens are being hit from all sides. With the bombardment of messages that we need to be talented, beautiful and smart to be successful many teens feel they are not measuring up. It is during this stage, where self-esteem is being developed, that our Western culture continually keeps knocking it down. Kids are caught up in the same level of hyper-competitiveness that you find on Wall Street or the Olympics and it is coming with a great cost. Mental health-related illnesses, teen suicide and self-harming behaviours are going up. I see it regularly in my line of work and it is extremely concerning.

Having over 15 years experience working with teens as well as raising my own I have been exposed to a lot of challenges that teens face. Social media has completely changed the landscape of teen development. Kids are no longer just comparing themselves to their peers at school but to the millions of people they see online. Bullying as we know is getting out-of-control. The anonymous online attacks 24-7 can eventually lead to depression, anxiety and PTSD.

My hope is to validate what teens out there are thinking, feeling and worrying about and let them know they are not alone. I encourage parents, caregivers and professionals to take a read in order to open up a dialogue on how we can better support our future leaders who are feeling vulnerable during this stage of their lives.

Treena Wynes is a registered social worker, writer and speaker. Her blog can be found at treenawynes.ca. Her second book: Am I The Only One? Struggling Being A Teen can be found at Amazon.ca, Chapters, Indigo and McNally-Robinson Bookstores.

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